Vertical cooler



Dec. 6, 1927.

A. R. THOMPSON VERTICAL COOLER Filed April 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR gym/P. 7% y ATTORNEYS Dec. 6, 1927.

1,651,912 A. R. THOMPSON VERTICAL COOLER Filed April 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3).

INVENTOR P- 2 g mm R 17 $3 [E 1 by 2 EL 2 a4- 5 mf ATTORNEYS Debffi, 192.7. 1,651,912

A. R. THOMPSON VERTICAL COOLER Filed April 26, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 i & i I E& Ls

I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR ATTORNEY cooling canned Patented Dec. 6, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,651,9i2 PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT R. THOMPSOI\T, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ANDERSON-BARN- GROVER MFG. CO., OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

VERTICAL COOLER.

, Application filed April 26, 1926. Serial N0.'104,675.

My invention relates to the canning art, and more particularly to an apparatus for goods subsequent to' the cooking thereof. 2

The principal object of my invention is to provide a simple and. economical cooler, o ccupying comparatively little-floor space 1n proportion to its capacity, and capable of operating upon a continuous and rapidly advancing procession of cans. Other ob ects are to provide for economy in the use of the cooling water,and to avoid submerging the cans therein, and a still further object is to rovide means'for positively and accurately ceding the cans to the cooler and discharging them therefrom. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully set forth in the subsequent description of a preferred embodiment, which should be read with the understanding that the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts may be varied, within the limits of the appended claims, without departing from the essential principles of the invention. It should also be understood that my invention may be embodied in machines for purposes other than that described. 7

' WVith this in view a preferred embodiment of my invention will now be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a part sectional plan view of the complete cooler. v

Fig. 2 is a broken vertical section, the lower and upper portions thereof being taken on different radial planes to show,re-v

illustrated in plan in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional detail, .en larged, of one of the reel bars.

Fig. 4 is a broken vertical section of the drive mechanism. V

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional detail of the upper portion of the cooling chamber and the propelling reel.

The body or .shell of the machine comprises an annular chamber formed by concentric cylindrical walls 1 and 1 positioned about a vertical axis, and secured to a suitable base 2 as shown in Fig. 2. A cover plate spectively, the feed and discharge mechanism 3, Figs. 1 and 2, extends overthe entire shell."

The inner shell cylinder 1 has secured to it, near its upper end, a spider 4, Fig. 5, spaced below the cover 3. A fixed central vertical shaft 5 extends between said cover and said spider, and serves as a bearing for a gear 6 of large diameter.

The annular cooling chamber formed by the cylindrical shell walls land 1 is provided with a helical can path or track formed by rails 7, Figs. 1 and 2, secured to said walls. The cans, as indicated at 8 in Fig. 1, are rolled along said track by a reel formed of spaced vertical bars 9 secured at'their upper ends to the rim of the gear 6, as shown at 10 in Fig. 2. The lower ends of said bars are secured, at 11, to a "ring 12, which lies in the lower portion of the annular cooling chamber and is guided by idler rollers, one ofwhich is shown at 13, bearing against its inner periphery. I

The can propelling reel thus comprises the upper gear 6, the lower ring 12, and the series of spaced vertical pusher bars 9. Its weight is supported entirely by the bearing of said gear'6 upon the shaft 5, a suitable thrust bearing 14 being provided at this point. In order to prevent distortion of the reel, it-is driven from both ends, and for this purpose both the gear 6 and the ring 12 are provided with peripheral teeth 15, Fig. 4, adapted for engagement by idler gears 16 which in turn are driven by pinions 17 secured upon a vertical shaft 18. The latter is driven in any convenient manner, as for example by bevel gears 19, and a horizontal shaft 20 carrying a belt pulley 21. v

The above described construction of the cooling chamber, can track, and reel, provides maximum rigidity and perfect alignment, thereby insuring free passage of the cans. The reel is insured against'distortion by being driven from both top and bottom, and is held in accurate alignment by its top bearing upon the shaft 5 and its bottom guide bearing upon the idler rollers 13, and the alignment of the can track is preserved by the mounting of its rails 7 directly and rigidly upon the chamber walls 1 and 1'. This construction also enables the entire reel to be lifted out of the cooling chamber, for cleaning or repair, merely by the removal of the cover plate 3. r

The reel bars'9 are preferably of channel section, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, with their open sides forward, to reduce the area of contact with the cans- In order to assist-the natethis source of trouble. a r The cooling water is preferably sprayed,

advanced slightly with respect to its inner -side9", as shownin Fig. 3, thereby causing the outer end of the can to lea dits inner end suiiiciently to cause it to follow the curved track easily. This advancing or leading of the outer side 9of the reel bar is best provided by mounting the entire bar at a slight angle to the true radial line. For convenience in manufacture, Iprefer to weld the ends of the bar tohorizontal'flange members 22, Fig. 2, which are bolted tothe geartiv and the ring 12' at 10 and 11.-respectively. By off-setting said flange members with respect to the true radius, asshown in Fig, 3, the desired angular lead of the bar is secured.

The' cans are fed into the annular cooling chamber at the bottomin: its helical. track, and are discharged fromits top, and during their helical upward progression, they are subjected to a descending spray of cold water introduced at the top of the annular chamber, and discharged from its bottom. Thus the hot cans, when firstintroduced, come in contact with Water which has been heated by its passage over previous cans, andv are gradually subjected to colder water as they approach the discharge at the top. By this arrangement I secure the most .eflicient exchange of heat. I

It should be noted at this point that the cans are not submerged in water at any time.

The water'is introduced in the form ofa spray, at the top of the annular cooling chamber, and trickles down over. the helically ascending cans. The submergingof hot cans in cold water-is not advisable in the canning art, for the reason that the sudden reduction in internal pressure in a can sometimes causes a small amount ofwater to be sucked in through a seam, thereby in I troducing bacteria and spoiling the contents.

submergence of the "cans, and by cooling them gradually as described above, I-elimi into the top of the cooling chamber from a pipe 23, Fig. 5, provided with suitable outlet holes 24. This pipelies withinthe cooling chamber throughout its entire circumference except where the cansare discharged. At this point the pipe 23 is led outside the chamber, as shown in Fig. 1, and passes beneath the can discharge chute, as shown in Fig. 2. Any suitable outlet, not shown, maybe pro.-

vided for draining the water from thebottom of the cooling chamber."

The cooling of thecans spray rather than a body 0 sity for a watertight cooling chamber. This b means of af. water has a further advantage. in eliminating the necesorder to 'do'this with the necessary speed and 7 accuracy, and Without damage togthe 'cans,.'I provide the following mechan1sm.

The cans, on end, are supplieclto the 11:13? chine by any, suitable conveyor represented in Fig. 1 by the track 25 and the chain.or belt indicated-at26.. Asuitable timing device, preferably a Worm 27, spaces the "cans andi'eeds them in proper timed relation to a rotating turretor star wheel 28, by which they are advanced over an arcuate platform 29 provided with a peripheral guide rail 30, and fed into an opening31 in the outer chamber wall 1, said opening being positioned justabove the lower end of thehelical can trackiormed by the rails 7, asshownin Fig. 2. The arcuate platform 29 terminates. in an inclined portion 32, so thatyas a can approaches the opening 31, it is tipped overv assists. the tipping of the can byengaging. it near its top. The worm27 and the star wheel 28 are so timed, of course, as to feed the cans accurately into the spaces betwee the reel bars 7.. v

To 1 insure suchltimiug, I prefer to drive, theentire feed mechanism directly from the reel itself. For thispu-rpose the star wheel shaft 35, Fig. 2, carries a gear 36, Whichis. driven,. through idlers. 3'4 from. the 7 gear teeth 15 of. the bottomree-l ringw12. The shaft drives, through bevel. gears 38,-. a; horizontal shaft 39 on which. is mounted a,v suitable sprocket 4O :toroperating-the'con veyer-26 shown in Fig. 1. Theti-ming worm 27 is driven from the horizontal shaft- .39:

by suitable gearing 41.

The cans are discharged through an opening. 42, Figs. 1 and 2, in the upper portion ing teeth, and which pushes the cans out,

Inn

endwise. into a chute 44, down which they.

may roll by gravity. The curvature and. position of the outer side wall 4L5 of said chute is such thatit engages the outer end. of the can, as the latter is pushed out from between the-.reel'bars 9 by the star whee-l This engagement, together with the continued'pressure of .the reel bar against the inner end portion of the can, causes the can to swing sideways into a position which enables it immediately to roll away from the reel and down the chute 44. r V I I claim I 1. In an apparatus for the described-pur pose, a helical track adapted for, the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides;

, a propelling, reel comprising a. series of spaced pusher bars disposed perpendicularly tothe axes of the cans" a-nd adapted to engage the sides thereof; and means for feeding the cans onto said track and between said bars during the movement thereof, the axes of said cans being maintained during said feeding in a plane radial to the axis of the reel. 7 i

2. In an apparatus for the described pur pose, a helical track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a propelling reel comprising a series of spaced pusher bars disposed perpendicularly to the axes of the cans and adapted to engage the sides thereof; and means for feeding the cans onto said track and between said bars during the movement thereof by tilting said cans from their ends onto their sides.

3. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a can track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a series of spaced pusher members for advancing the cans along said track; and means for feeding the cans onto said track and between said pusher members during the move-- ment thereof, said means comprising an inclined chute down Which the cans are adapted to slide, on end, and by which they are tilted onto their sides upon said track;

4. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a can track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a series of spaced pusher members for advancing the cans along said track; and means for feeding the cans onto said track and between said pusher members during the movement thereof, said means comprising an inclined chute down which the cans are adapted to slide, on end, and by which they are tilted onto their sides upon said track, and means adapted to engage the upper end portions of the cans to assist the tilting thereof.

5. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a can track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a series of spaced pusher members for advancing the cans along said track; and means for removing the cans from said track by pushing them endwise from between said members.

6. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a can track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a series of spaced pusher bars for advanc- .ing thccans along said track; and amov able member: actuated by said-bars for pushing the cans endwise from between said the cans endwise from between said bars rand a chute for .receiving the cans from said member and conducting them away from the track.

8. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a can track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a series of spaced pusher bars for advancing the cans along said track; and means for removing the cans from said track by pushing them endwise from between said bars, turning them horizontally, and causing them to roll away from said track.

9. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a helical track adapted for the rolling passage of a series of cans upon their sides; a propelling reel comprising a series of spaced pusher bars disposed perpendicularly to the axes of the cans and adapted to engage the sides thereof; and means for removing the cans from said track by pushing them endwise from between said bars.

10. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a substantially vertical cylindrical shell; a helical can track therein; a rotatable propelling reel comprising spaced substantially vertical pusher bars, a ring to which the lower ends of said bars are secured, and a member to which the upper ends of said bars are secured; idler rollers adapted to bear against said ring forguiding the lower end of said reel; bearing means associated with said member for supporting and guiding the upper end of the reel; and means for rotating said reel by engagement with both said ring and said member.

11'. In an apparatus for the described purpose, asubstantially vertical cylindrical shell; a helical can track therein; a rotatable propelling reel comprising spaced substantially vertical pusher bars, a ring to which the lower ends of said bars are secured, and a member to which the upper ends of said bars are secured; idler .rollers adapted to bear against said ring for guiding the lower endof said reel; and a central bearing for said member to support and guide the upper end of said reel.

12. In an apparatus for the described purpose, substantially vertical spaced concentric cylindrical shells forming an annular chamber; a helical can track within said chamber; a rotatable propelling reel comprising a series of substantially vertical spaced pusher bars, a ring to which the low er ends of said bars are secured, and a gear to. which the upper endsof said bars are secured; bearing means for said ring to guide the lower end of the reel; :1 fixed member secured Within the upper end of the inner shell -;'a cover member securedto the top ofwthe outer shell; acentral .shaft extending v between said members and 2 supported there by, said shaft forming a bearing for-said gear; and means'fotr. rotating the'reeLhy engagement with said gear. '13. In'anvap'paratusiorthe described .pur

pose, a cylindrical shell; a helical can track therein; a can propelling reel comprising end'members and a series-0f spacedpusher bars having their ends secured thereto; bearing means for guiding both end members of saidreel; and means for rotating said reel by engagement with both end'membe-r-s thereof. 1

In testimony whereof I have signed: my 20 name to 'this's-pecification; r

ALBERT R. THOMPSON. 

